Martin O’Donnell yesterday chaired his first board meeting of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB); his role as Chairman runs until 31st December 2023.
Martin is also Senior Steward of the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee (INHSC), having joined the INHSC in 2005 and is a member of the Turf Club since 2009.
A Chartered Valuation Surveyor by profession, he has served on a number of committees within the organisation - he has been Chairman of the Finance Committee, the Point-to-Point Committee, and has just ended his tenure as Chairman of the Stewarding Committee. Mr. O’Donnell has also served as Chairman of the Stewards at Leopardstown and Bellewstown racecourses and is an owner/breeder and formerly competed in Point to Points and charity races.
Speaking at the meeting, Martin O’Donnell said: “I am honoured to take on this role. As somebody with a deep love of and affinity with Irish Horse Racing, I am committed to ensuring that the governance and operation of the IHRB is held to the highest possible standards. This Board’s first priority is to fill the role of CEO, and to effect the appointment of two independent board directors, at the earliest possible opportunity.”
Mr. O’Donnell was joined yesterday, at his first board meeting as Chairman by new Board members former Justice Frank Clarke and Mr. Myles O’Malley, replacing outgoing Board members, Harry McCalmont and John Power.
Former Justice Frank Clarke joined the Turf Club in 1999 and the INHSC in 2001 and was previously a deputy Chairman of the Turf Club from 2003 to 2005. Mr. O’Malley, a property developer, joined the Turf Club in 2005 and became a member of the INHSC in 2009. Mr. John Byrne, Senior Steward of the Turf Club and current Board member has assumed the role of deputy chair.